my microcosm

The People's Apocalypse

This is a book about the end times: The ground we stand on
will fall into the sea or God will stomp down from the sky (he’s really
pissed now).

We are ready.

We’ve prepared for this day by hoarding grain, reading
scripture, raising chickens, arming ourselves against each other, and
building solar ovens for the post-apocalyptic pizza party.

We are impatient.

We’ve tried to hasten the end with prayer and waste, environmental activism and holy wars.

We are hopeful.

We’ve imagined zombies and King-Kong-sized Jesus;
post-civilization utopias where salmon crowd the rivers again and new
vines climb to hide all the old fast-food architecture.

We are survivalists, anarchists, environmentalists, U.S. Army
special ops, visionaries, poets, zinesters, and Christian
fundamentalists.

We are average: According to Pew research, 41% of Americans believe Jesus Christ will return by 2050.

This is a book about personal apocalypses: When our gardens
die, when all is lost, when our hearts feel ruined, we the people
rise—we soften ourselves to meet the chaos. In the rubble of it all, our
worst fears realized, we build some small fire and warm our hands. And
as night falls, we see that the moon and stars still rise, too, with or
without us, and we begin to relax.

Comments

Reglar Wiglar3/4/2013

"Doomsday Preppers, Zombies, Global Warming, Honey Boo Boo, there's an apocalyptic feeling in the American psyche for sure, so a book like The People's Apocalypse fits right into this cultural phenomenon."

"The largest theme connecting these pieces is a tried and true notion about enjoying the journey and not trying to cling to a fleeting destination. The title itself, The People’s Apocalypse, is about reclaiming the end times as our own. It’s not about survival per se, but about making connections with family, friends, and lovers, and enjoying it while it lasts."